One of London’s most historic restaurants is to be reanimated after years of closure.
Simpson’s — not the one in Strand, but the historic chophouse in the alleyways off Cornhill — has been dishing out chops and breakfasts and beer and bonhomie for a quarter of a millennium. But it all ground to a halt in 2022 when the owners came into dispute with the landlords. The restaurant shut suddenly and it seemed that one of the City’s great culinary institutions had ran its course.
Now, it’s back. Sort of. The team behind Smithfield restaurant Cloth have taken on the Grade-II-listed building, which they intend to reopen in mid-2026. No word yet on the menu — other than it will include sausages.
Here’s the kicker, though (relegated to the bottom of the press release). The historic name will not be retained.
“One thing that won’t continue is the Simpson’s Tavern name, which can’t be used due to legal complications – the new restaurant will be called Cloth Cornhill.”
The nature of the legal complications, whether arising with the previous owners, the landlord or some other agency, are not disclosed. Even so, if the new guys retain the dark wooden interior and ye olde feel of the place then it’s a small price to pay for the return of this characterful venue.
Dating back to 1757, Simpson’s was a favourite of Dickens and Thackeray, among other notable figures. Samuel Pepys dined here, according to the Standard, even though he’d died half a century before it opened. THAT’s how good the place was.
It’s heartening to learn that it will reopen, albeit under a different name. But all is not lost on that front, either. Londoners can be quite stubborn when it comes to holding on to an old name. Nearby Petticoat Lane has been officially Middlesex Street since the Victorian era, but everyone still calls it by the traditional epithet. Let’s all do that with Simpson’s, too, even if the restaurant itself isn’t allowed to.